


Presence

by Sinesthero



Series: Titans of Industry [4]
Category: Borderlands, Borderlands (Video Games), Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Cuddling, M/M, Other, Queerplatonic friendship - Freeform, bed sharing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 12:30:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9071779
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sinesthero/pseuds/Sinesthero
Summary: Rhys is having trouble sleeping after he and Fiona return from the Vault of the Traveler. Vaughn knows just what to do.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Written for boomdeyadah as part of the Tumblr Borderlands secret Santa gift exchange of 2016.

Rhys awoke from his brief, fitful sleep with the feeling of eyes on him. Though he expected to see the face of Fiona looking at him, he realized quickly that it was not her at his side. An instant icy stab of fear accompanied that realization. He shifted from laying on his side to his back and eyed the looming shape in the dimness of their LED strewn room.

It was Vaughn near him. He was back at the grounded Helios, home safe from the Vault he had been trapped in for what had apparently been months. “Hey…” He said, his voice weak and weary.

“Hey,” Vaughn spoke softly as his calloused hand descended to brush Rhys’ hair back from his forehead. He was sitting up, his bare back against the headboard and a blanket on his stretched out legs.

Rhys leaned his head into the warmth of the hand and closed his eyes again. When they opened, he asked with a frown tightening his lips, “Were you… watching me sleep, baby? I thought we agreed on that. You… weren’t going to do that.”

Vaughn’s lips crinkled up and he tilted his head so the glow from the LED on his watch reflected off his echo specs, “The _majority_ of my life revolves around you, but not _all_ of it. I _may_ have other concerns… like our employees and our… colonists? Cultists? Cultonists?”

“Sorry…” Rhys gloomy voice betrayed just how much he had failed to take what Vaughn had said for the joke it was meant to be.

“No, I’m _kidding_ , I was watching you. But it wasn’t in the creepy _stalker_ way. I just like looking at you… is that wrong? You’re all… present and alive. Plus, I think I get the right to renegotiate all relationship promises made before you disappeared for nine months.”

Rhys felt a sharp twinge of guilt and nodded as he pulled his blankets tighter around his chin. Not knowing what to say in response, he murmured, “Come _here_ , I’m _freezing_.”

These past few days since Rhys had returned from the Vault of the Traveller, by way of the city of Sanctuary, they had avoided talking about their feelings on the matter of his disappearance. They filled the time with the pure joy of being together again, catching up as best as they were able, and a fair amount of mind bending reunion sex. It was only a matter of time before Vaughn would press him to talk about the separation. He just didn’t expect it to be on the eve of Mercenary Day.

“You’re evading.” Vaughn observed dryly, his fingers still playing in Rhys’ hair as though he needed to remain on constant physical touch with his lover lest he be spirited away again.

“I _may_ be evading, but I really _am_ freezing,” Rhys protested. “It’s the middle of the Pandoran night and we live in a smashed space station in a desert. This blanket isn’t cutting it.” When it did not seem like his words would convince the other man he resorted to whining, “Please?”  

Vaughn took off his glasses and set them on the nightstand. “You’re going to have to let me into your… blanket cocoon to maximize my potential warmth,” he observed, as he nonetheless shifted his blanket off of himself.

Rhys lifted his arm to open his covers with a sigh. The expression on his face was one of intense suffering, like the drama mask that inevitably graced every high school theater along sides it’s companion comedy mask.  He made an exaggerated “Brrrrrrrrrrrr.”

Wasting no time, Vaughn dove under the covers, snuggling up against the other man and putting an arm around him. “Here I am. Your own personal space heater.”

Rhys deftly used his feet to maneuver the bottom of the blanket under them to seal in the warmth. “I’m not used to this. The cold. The heat… The... everything. It’s all just _too much_ . The variations. Sometimes… it’s like.... _time_ runs too slow… or too fast.” His brow furrowed heavily, “Nothing feels right anymore.”

Vaughn, for his part, dutifully rubbed his hands up and down Rhys’ arm as he threw a leg across him and cuddled him close. “I don’t... understand what you mean, but I’m sorry it's hard for you.”

The metal arm closed its silver fingers around the short man’s arm. Rhys was silent, as he often was since he returned home with only spotty memories of what had transpired within the Vault. The only sound he made was a soft hum of pleasure at the warmth of Vaughn’s body against his chilly skin.

After laying his head on Rhys’ shoulder, Vaughn said, “Fiona told me something similar this morning. Only… how did she put it? She said she felt like time is ‘wrong’ now?”

Rhys replied, without really adding anything of substance, “Yeah… Yeah. That’s a good way of describing it.”

“I’ve noticed you haven’t slept very well… since you’ve been back,” Vaughn cautiously probed.

After stalling for time to make his reply with only awkward silence, Rhys finally answered with a question, “Are you… do you think you’re the jealous type?”

Vaughn’s head lifted and he tilted his face to look at Rhys, speculatively, “To a point… yes… of course. You’re gorgeous and I… spent a lot of time watching you with other people. Is there something you need to tell me about you and Fiona?” A genuine note of concern became evident in his voice, but no anger seemed present.

“Oh god no!” Rhys lips pulled back from his teeth in a grimace, “Not like that… not… _sexual_ … you know how she is. That never changed.”

“Okay…” Vaughn said slowly before resting his head back against the fleshy shoulder. “Then no… I’m not jealous… not about you and Fi. Never.”

Courage finally came to him to just come out and say it, "I'm having trouble sleeping without her… and… I don’t want you to… mistake the way I feel about her, but when I’m not with her I feel... ” He struggled for an adequate word and eventually chose, “Discomforted.” It was the most clinical verbiage he could think of at such a state of exhaustion.  

A pensive look took over Vaughn’s face before he said, “I know you two went through… _something_ … together. You spent a long, long time together. I can see how close you are with her now, but I’m not unhappy or concerned with it. You’re both my friends!” Vaughn’s voice became extra emphatic and loud as it often did when he got worked up in some way, “I love you… and I love Fi… and I _get_ that you _also_ love her. What I _am_ concerned about is just the both of you… in general. I’m worried about what might have happened to you… out… wherever you were… in that Vault. I’m worried about what might have been done to you... but I’m not worried about you having a deep relationship with someone other than me.”

A rush of relief flowed through Rhys and he breathed, “Thanks.”  

Vaughn’s hand lifted to rub his partner’s cheek, “I am going to be back in a little bit.”

His started his departure from Rhys’ cocoon which made the tall man whine piteously. “Don’t leave me alone. It’s the night before Mercenary Day...”

Vaughn dutifully tucked Rhys back in with loving thoroughness, “Just for a few minutes. Try and rest.”  He drew his own blanket up and spread that over Rhys as well. When the second blanket was tucked in he bent over and kissed the tip of Rhys’ nose and then his lips.

Rhys watched as Vaughn put on a black T-shirt and shoes to head out of their apartment. “Come back soon.”

“I promise I’ll be back soon.” Vaughn flashed him a winsome smile. “You just promise me you’ll be here when I do.”

“I promise,” Rhys said in little more than a whisper.

With his partner gone, Rhys looked out over the room. Overall, the new living quarters suited him, even though it still felt strange. It was larger than their previous one, having several small but separate rooms as opposed to the one room flat Vaughn had lived in before.

Structurally, and in terms of living in a civilized fashion, things at Helios had been made better by the off world shipments Vaughn had managed to set up while helming Atlas as acting CEO the past nine months. There were actual showers now.

Atlas, too, had benefited from his leadership. Vaughn had managed to get some of Atlas’ back catalogue of weapon models back on the market. Making the most of their small amount of capital, he had created a steady flow of cash into the young company.

Now, Rhys was back at the helm and the excellence of Vaughn’s tenure as CEO made him anxious as to how he would fare now that he had returned.

As the minutes dragged by, Rhys found his mind racing with a jumble of thoughts that did not feel like his own.

Being alone was also discomforting. It was fortunate that the door opened before he could work himself up too much.

Fiona stepped through the bedroom door and closed it behind herself. She looked as haggard as he felt as she shuffled lifelessly to the side of his bed. She was wearing an oversized, thick green sweater over a T-shirt along with red pajama pants.

“You better have clothes on under there,” she said with narrowed green eyes as she looked down at him.

“Yes! Pants!” Rhys sputtered. “Why are you…”

“That will work.” She forcibly untucked his blankets and exposed him to the air.

Rhys whined. “That’s _so_ unnecessary!”

“Shut up.” She slid her body into the bed next to him and pulled the blankets over them both. Her arm closed around him with no hesitation. “I see I’m not the only one freezing. Sasha said I was over board.”

“Where’s Vaughn?” Rhys asked as Fiona grabbed him by his shoulder and rolled him onto his side, facing away from her.

She slid her arm around him and pulled herself close, spooning him tightly as they had countless times before. “I dunno. He just asked me if I wanted to sleep over… He explained things.”

“Thanks for coming.” He sighed, “I’m sorry he woke you up.”

“It’s fine… I wasn’t able to sleep anyway.” He could feel her lean her forehead on the back of his neck and he breathed out a sigh. It felt comfortable and familiar.

The room was silent but for the hum of a nearby power generator running. It was a quarter of an hour before Fiona whispered at his ear, “You still don’t remember anything.”

“No.” Rhys’ head shook. “No. I feel so cheated. It’s like… everything we went through… and there wasn’t even… a pay off. What a rip off. And my brain feels like… urgh… scrambled.”

“It’s like someone poked a fork into my brain and scrambled it… all that and not even a consolation prize.”

“We’re home, at least. Alive.”

“I guess.” Fiona yawned expansively. “I still don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep… but I feel better being here.”

“Yeah… I do too…” He was triggered to yawn as well just by virtue of her having done it. He rubbed his robot fingers gently over the back of her hand.

There was now sound in the apartment beyond. Opening the door carefully so as not to spill, Vaughn returned to the bedroom bearing three steaming mugs. The air smelled sweet and chocolatey with his arrival.

Rhys asked with cautious optimism, “Is that… hot cocoa?” He sat up, letting the blankets fall away, in spite of the chill. Some things were worth the discomfort.

“Whatever it is, I want it.” Fiona sat up too, transfixed on the aroma. Both of her hands stretched out to take one.

Vaughn looked pleased with himself at their reaction, “It sure is.” He handed Fiona a mug and cautioned her, “It’s really hot Fi, don’t burn your…”

“OW!” Fiona exclaimed as she promptly burned her lip.

Rhys snickered and looked up to Vaughn, “Would you toss me a sweater, please?”  

“Certainly. And I warned you Fiona.” Vaughn set the other two mugs on the nightstand before he rifled through Rhys’ dresser for a suitable garment. He selected a red and white striped hoodie and tossed it to him on the bed.

As he put it on, Vaughn sat down on the opposite side from Fiona and handed Rhys a mug. “Here, Bro.”

Fiona seemed enchanted by the contents of the mug, even though she had not gotten a proper sip yet. “So I’ve had chocolate before… though… never as a drink. What are these floating things?” she looked at them skeptically. “Some kind of little… sugar pillows?”

Vaughn nodded, “Marshmallows. And yes, they’re basically sugar and gelatin.”

Rhys said, “You’re going to love them… they’re great.”

Fiona was no longer willing to wait. Plunging head first into the risk, as was her particular way, she drank from the mug. Her resulting moan was of such pure ecstasy that it shocked both men into scandalized expressions as they looked at one another. “Have you made this for Sasha?” she demanded.

Rhys always enjoyed how much she thought of and worried about her younger sister. It was one of her more charming attributes. Sitting back against the headboard, he took an experimental sip from his own mug. It was hot, so he just held it in his hands, enjoying the way it radiated warmth into his stiff fingers.

“Haha! Yes, Of course.” Vaughn grinned at her, “We’ve been drinking liquor spiked cocoa on and off for weeks.”

“You can put alcohol in it!?” Fiona’s bright eyes flashed with the world of possibilities and she looked much less weary. “This is the greatest thing… ever.”

Vaughn countered, sounding dubious, “I don’t know… I think money is the best thing ever because it buys the alcohol and the hot cocoa.”  

“I’ll drink to that,” Fiona smiled and she took another drink. She made a milder sound of joy, “Mmmmmmmn! I love these marshy-whatevers. Thank you for giving me the greatest thing that has ever gone in my mouth.”

Vaughn grinned and took a long, slow sip from his mugs before saying, “That is the first time a woman has ever told me that.”

Rhys gave a small snort of laughter and said, “Thanks, babe, both for bringing the cocoa and…” In the space a few seconds his fell, all mirth draining from it, “...for being so understanding. I know this is… odd.”

The mood shifted to somber for Fiona as well. She admitted, sounding just short of utter exhaustion, “I’ve had trouble sleeping alone too. Everything feels… terrible since we left the vault… but I don’t want to be in the way. So, if you get sick of me, just give me the boot.”

Vaughn shook his head, “You won’t be in the way. I promise. We’ll take a while and a figure things out. If it takes a while of you staying with us for you both to get comfortable and… that’s fine.” The emotion seemed to finally get to him as well and his eyes shone with tears, “I’m just… so… so… _so_ … happy to have you back. Both of you. A week ago… I believed that I really might never see either of you again. It was like having… the weight of this ever-present loss always on me, but now you’re back and... I’ll do _anything_ to make you both feel better.”

Switching his cocoa to his robotic hand, Rhys then put an arm around Vaughn, “I love you.” He leaned his head down against the smaller man as tears gathered in the corner of his eyes, “I’m sorry we were gone so long… We didn’t know… that would happen.”  

Fiona was uncharacteristically somber as she added, “We should have waited. It was as much my fault as his.”  

“Shh, shh… guys... It’s okay. I wasn’t trying to guilt trip you.” He rested his hand on Rhys’ leg to give his thigh a couple pats and a squeeze. “It’s a holiday!” His jaw tightened as his brow furrowed for the barest of moments, “The separation was hard on all of us… But it worked out, right?" A smile came back to his lips, soft and kind. "Besides, it’s half my fault for being too distracted by the sight of so much loot to pay any attention to you both jogging off into another dimension.”

Fiona snickered faintly and reached out her free hand and set it on the junction between Rhys’ robotic arm and shoulder. “No crying on Mercenary Day.”

Rhys’ cheeks flushed and he lifted his head up and smiled first at Vaughn before turning to look at Fiona. “I’m okay,” He protested and blinked back his tears. He lifted his cup to his lips and downed the rest of his cocoa like it was something far stronger. “I’m… an incredibly lucky guy to have such… good people close to me. I’m really looking forward to just spending the day together with you guys… LB, Gortys, Sasha and Yvette. My favorite people in the world. All together... ” He abruptly changed topics declaring, “Why is it so damn cold?”

Vaughn plucked the mug from his hands and set it on the end table, “Get under the covers, dork.”

“Oh, I’m the dork?” Rhys scoffed indignantly.

“ _Yes_!” Vaughn and Fiona said in perfect unison before erupting into laughter.

Rhys gave them his squinty eyed look of mock-surliness before rooting around under the blankets to get warm and comfortable. With a huff of breath he said, “You’re the one who ironically wore Math pun T-shirts in college.”

“You’re the one who thought he had healing tears,” Fiona countered before drinking the last of her cocoa and setting the mug aside on the end table on her side of the bed.

Vaughn insisted, with a haughty air, “Those T-Shirts were _hilarious_.”

“Keep telling yourself that, _nerd_.” Rhys said in that voice he used when he thought he was being especially cool.

“It takes intelligence to be a nerd, Rhys,” Vaughn said, dryly, “Any dork can be a dork.”

Fiona said, “Let me solve this by reminding you both that you’re the most incredibly weird man children I’ve ever known.” She wormed her way under Rhys’ blanket with him and gripped his hip to push him back up on to his side so she could lay against him with her arm around his waist.

“Fair enough.” Vaughn grinned, “She loves us, Rhys.” He worked his way under the blanket on Rhys’ other side and lay against his chest.

“I know,” Rhys answered with a quirky grin. “Queen of the dorks.”

“Shhhhhhut up, I am not,” she teased. “This is all just an incredibly elaborate long con.”

Vaughn said, coyly, “The only thing you’ve stolen is our _hearts_.”  

Rhys closed his eyes, a smile on his lips at their banter. They made a few more exchanges but he was already starting to drift off so the meaning of their words was lost. The sounds though of their voices and the cadence of their speech were a music that pushed away the intrusive, anxious thoughts.

In some ways, he still did not feel entirely at ease. Still, nestled safely between two people that loved him in their vastly different ways, he felt well enough to fall into a peaceful slumber.


End file.
